Stuck in Stir: Drew Peterson Marks 2 Years in Jail As Slain Wife's Family Waits For Day In Court Drew Peterson's third wife was killed more than seven years ago. His fourth wife has been missing for three and a half years. Peterson has spent the last two years in a jail cell waiting for a jury to decide his fate.

By Joseph Hosey | Email the author | May 6, 2011

Two years ago tomorrow, Drew Peterson climbed inside his missing fourth wife’s Pontiac Grand Prix, pulled out of his cul-de-sac and drove away to run some errands.

Peterson didn’t make it a mile before a small army of state cops descended on him, pulled him out of the car, snatched off his sunglasses and took him to jail.

Peterson has sat there since, waiting in the Will County Adult Detention Facility to be tried on charges he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

In the two years Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, has been locked up, one of the sons he had with his slain third wife was named valedictorian of Bolingbrook High School. A son he had with his first wife lost his job as an Oak Brook police officer due to his involvement in allegedly obstructing a state police search of Peterson’s home. That son’s marriage ended in divorce while Peterson has been incarcerated. He now lives in his father’s Bolingbrook home where he takes care of his four younger half-siblings, two of whom were born to Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, the driver of the Grand Prix, who vanished in October 2007.

The article states that the new lawyer for Vaughn is George Lenard; he once represented Craig Stebic (Lisa) and Drew Peterson. I wonder what will happen to Peterson's high-priced lawyers now that the governor has cut the funding for defense.

Christopher Vaughn's Lawyers Quit Case After Money Well Runs Dry Deprived of cash from the state's capital litigation fund, the lawyers for an Oswego man charged with gunning down his wife and young children dump the case.

By Joseph Hosey | Email the author | May 10, 2011

When Christopher Vaughn faced the death penalty, his attorneys had access to millions of dollars in state money to fund his defense and buy their time.

But after Governor Quinn banned capital punishment in March, that money went away, and on Tuesday, so did Vaughn's lawyers.

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Rozak appointed the public defender's office to the case. George Lenard, a Joliet attorney with a private practice who also works as a part-time public defender, landed the lead role in Vaughn's defense.

Among the more notable clients Lenard has represented are Craig Stebic and Drew Peterson. Stebic's wife, Lisa Stebic, vanished in April 2007. Stebic has not been charged with harming his missing wife.

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Lenard quit the Peterson case after a dispute with attorney Joel Brodsky, whose involvement drove two other lawyers away from the Peterson camp as well.

Unless the former Bolingbrook cop can post $2 million bail by Thursday, the first performance of “Waiting For Drew Peterson” will also be missing the title character.

The Annoyance Theatre and Bar begins previewing its new show this week. Performances are scheduled to run through July 7.

The theater company, known for the long-running “Coed Prison Sluts” and “The Real Live Brady Bunch” will now present “an absurd look at our fascination with murderers, celebrity culture and the Internet.”

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The show centers around sisters Pam and Sue who believe Peterson was wrongly accused and fall in love with him from afar. Portrayed by co-writers Nancy Friedrich and Amy Speckien, the sisters decide to their show support by waiting in their house until Peterson is released.

“(They) post on Facebook declaring his innocence, sell clutter on eBay to fund his defense and do yoga,” according to publicity materials. “Ultimately, though, Drew can only love one of them. The polite facade is dropped as Pam and Sue go to war for Drew’s love.”

Joel Brodsky, Peterson’s attorney, said Peterson is amused by the play.

Bolingbrook High valedictorian thrives despite turmoil of being Drew Peterson’s son By Catherine Ann Velasco cvelasco@stmedianetwork.com May 22, 2011 02:31AM

BOLINGBROOK — Bolingbrook High School valedictorian Tom Peterson is intrigued with how he can overcome obstacles while some people can’t.

And, he has faced some major ones.

His dad, Drew Peterson, has been charged with the murder of Tom’s birth mother, Kathleen Savio. Drew Peterson is also a suspect in the disappearance of Tom’s adoptive mom, Stacy Peterson.

For the past two years, his dad, a retired Bolingbrook police sergeant, has been held in Will County Jail on a $20 million bond, waiting for his trial to begin.

Meanwhile, Tom never gave up on his goal to be No. 1 at Bolingbrook High School, getting A’s in his honor and Advanced Placement classes and keeping extremely busy.

“I just kept my eye on the prize. My dad always taught me to go for the best and be the best you can be and nothing less. I always thought, ‘Why not?’ so I did,” Tom said. “My mom did that a lot with me, too. So I developed this mindset … that I can be the best at everything, and I did just because it brought me some sort of joy out of it, I guess.

Joseph "Shark" Lopez, one of the five lawyers defending Drew Peterson against charges he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio, said the accused wife-killer should be happy about the lawyer's latest court victory.

Lopez recently won a first-degree murder case brought against known gang member Anthony Collazo, who allegedly killed a pizzeria manager.

“Mr. Callazo is extremely happy to have been cleared of this charge of murder,” Lopez said in a report. "I am sure that Drew Peterson is also pleased because there was more evidence against Mr. Callazo then there is against Drew Peterson, and the jury found him not guilty. This just shows how very weak the case against Drew Peterson is.”

Drew Peterson Lawyers: Drew's Not a "Danger to Anyone" The court papers asking for Drew Peterson's release from jail insist it's safe for him to be out and about. By Joseph Hosey | Email the author | 12:36pm

Retired grandfather Drew Peterson was a mere 100 miles from the Mexican border yet didn't make a run for it even though he figured he was going to be arrested for his wife's murder.

That is just one of the reasons Peterson should be released from the Will County jail, according to court papers his attorneys filed Monday in hopes of getting him sprung from the the clink.

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The murder trial has been held up for nearly a year as the appellate court mulls over a prosecution appeal of what hearsay evidence can be used against Peterson, a former Bolingbrook cop who pulled the plug on his law enforcement career rather than face an internal inquiry regarding Stacy's disappearance in late 2007.

In the motion for Peterson's release, his attorneys informed the appellate judges that they don't "wish to hurry the court in making its decision" but that Peterson should be a free man while they are figuring out what to do.

Lifetime confirms that he will play Drew Peterson, the former Illinois police sergeant accused of the murder of his third wife and who is the only suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

"The Big Bang Theory" actress Kaley Cuoco will costar with Lowe as Stacy, who was 30 years younger than her husband when she went missing four years after she and Drew were married. Stacy's sister reported her missing after not hearing from her. Drew has maintained she had called him days before and said she was leaving him for another man.

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Drew was indicted by a grand jury in May 2009 and charged with the murder of Savio. He's currently sitting in jail and awaiting trial.

The Lifetime TV movie is tentatively titled "The Drew Peterson Story aka Ladykiller" and will begin filming

Drew Peterson, Accused Bolingbrook Wife-Killer, Told to Stay Put by Appellate Court Jailed for more than two years on murder charges, suspect learns he's not going anywhere, at least for the time being. By Joseph Hosey | Email the author | July 5, 2011

Accused wife-killer Drew Peterson’s latest plea to get out of jail again fell on deaf ears, as the appellate court shot it down last week and told him he’s not going anywhere.

Jailed since May 2009 on charges he murdered his third wife, Kathleen Savio, Peterson, 57, has been waiting on the appellate court to return a decision on what hearsay evidence can be used against him at trial.

The appellate court has been mulling over the matter for just shy of a year.

Among those encouraged last week when a Florida jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murder was none other than Drew Peterson, who quickly heard the news through the jailhouse grapevine, his attorney said.

Joel Brodsky said his client, held for more than two years on charges that he drowned his third wife, was pleased that jurors in the high-profile case based their decision solely on the evidence.

"The jury is not to judge people morally; it's to judge whether there is sufficient evidence," Brodsky said. "There was more evidence against Casey Anthony — circumstantial evidence — than there is against Drew Peterson. It's good to see a jury do the correct thing."

Others didn't draw the same comparison.

"Every case needs to be judged on its own merits, and we are preparing to move forward with this prosecution," responded Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office. "The state's attorney has great faith in our system of justice and jury system."

Lawyers for Drew Peterson are demanding that filming be halted on a made-for-TV movie about the former cop, arguing it invades his privacy and is nothing more than a "character assassination" that would "prejudice any potential jury pool."

The lawyers ask the makers of the movie to "cease and desist" all work on the movie by Friday or face legal action.

Maksym even sent a copy to actor Rob Lowe, who has been chosen to portray Peterson, accused of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio and a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Thought you saw Rob Lowe around Los Alamitos recently? Only he looked a little older than you thought he would be? Relax, you’re not hallucinating. The busy actor is shooting a Lifetime network movie in the Rossmoor neighborhood, with his hair dyed gray for the role.

“Untouchable” is the movie in which Lowe plays the real-life character of Drew Peterson, an Illinois police sergeant who allegedly killed his third wife, and who was suspected but not charged in the disappearance of his fourth.

Will County prosecutors suffered a significant setback in the Drew Peterson case Tuesday, as an appellate court refused their request to allow certain hearsay statements in the ex-Bolingbrook police officer's murder trial.

In a divided opinion by the 3rd District Appellate Court, the justices ruled that the Will County state's attorney's office missed the 30-day appeal deadline when it sought to overturn a trial court's decision barring 8 of 14 hearsay statements. Prosecutors contend the testimony is crucial to their efforts to convict Peterson for the drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Jurors deciding the fate of former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson won’t be allowed to consider a variety of hearsay evidence because prosecutors failed to appeal a trial court ruling within a 30-day window, an appeals court says.

The Illinois Appellate Court’s 3rd District ruled Tuesday that prosecutors missed a deadline in one of three interlocutory appeals challenging evidence rulings. Peterson was accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared. The Chicago Tribune covered the decision (PDF), which split 2-1 on the missed deadline.

Incumbent Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow might have some competition in the March primary.

Frankfort DUI attorney and “Kennedy Democrat” Ronald Rodger kicked out a press release last week that said he “is exploring” a run for the office. In the release, Rodger took a swipe at Glasgow for his office’s handling of the Drew Peterson murder case.

“The office ... is in jeopardy of losing another high profile case,” he said. “The courts recently ruled crucial evidence of the Drew Peterson case inadmissible because (prosecutors) missed a deadline for filing motions.”

Incumbent Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow might have some competition in the March primary.

Frankfort DUI attorney and “Kennedy Democrat” Ronald Rodger kicked out a press release last week that said he “is exploring” a run for the office. In the release, Rodger took a swipe at Glasgow for his office’s handling of the Drew Peterson murder case.

Back to brat pack brown: Rob Lowe ditches his silver fox locks and returns to brunetteBy Jade WatkinsLast updated at 12:47 AM on 23rd August 2011

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Lowe's grey makeover last month was for the television movie 'Untouchable'; the story of police officer Drew Peterson, who is currently awaiting trial charged with the murder if his third wife.The actor spent nine hours daily in hair and make-up to become Peterson, including adding wrinkles and a moustache to his usually flawless face.It was announced in June that Lowe had won the role of Peterson, whose story has gripped the United States.In 2009 the former police sergeant was arrested for the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio, following the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacey Peterson.Savio died on March 1, 2004, five months after her divorce from Peterson

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Peterson is still awaiting trial and is imprisoned in Will County Adult Detention Center.

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Status: No court date has been assigned; his Bail Amount is $2,007,500.00.

"It's just a very different style than anything I've ever done before and I think people are going to be surprised."

Lowe also revealed that the crew shot two different endings to accommodate the results of the real-life trial, adding: "Drew Peterson is awaiting trial for the murder of one of his wives, and he could very easily be off by the time the movie comes out in January. In fact, we shot two endings just to protect ourselves."